negative

[ neg-uh-tiv ]

/ ˈnɛg ə tɪv /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR negative ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

expressing or containing negation or denial: a negative response to the question.

refusing consent, as to a proposal: a negative reply to my request.

expressing refusal to do something: He maintained a negative attitude about cooperating.

prohibitory, as a command or order.

characterized by the absence of distinguishing or marked qualities or features; lacking positive attributes (opposed to positive): a dull, lifeless, negative character.

lacking in constructiveness, helpfulness, optimism, cooperativeness, or the like: a man of negative viewpoint.

encouraging or noting an unhealthy or unbalanced outlook toward something, especially toward sex or sexuality (used in combination):The song has a body-negative message.

being without rewards, results, or effectiveness: a search of the premises proved negative.

Mathematics, Physics.

involving or noting subtraction; minus.
measured or proceeding in the direction opposite to that which is considered as positive.

Photography. noting an image in which the brightness values of the subject are reproduced so that the lightest areas are shown as the darkest.

Electricity.

of, relating to, or characterized by negative electricity.
indicating a point in a circuit that has a lower potential than that of another point, the current flowing from the point of higher potential to the point of lower potential.

Medicine/Medical.

(of blood, affected tissue, etc.) failing to indicate the presence of a specified medical condition or substance.
(of a diagnostic test) failing to indicate the presence of the medical condition or substance tested for:Test results for skin cancer were negative.
(of a person) not having a specified medical condition, or not having a specified substance in the body (often used in combination):She tested negative for a staph infection.I'm Rh-negative.

Chemistry. (of an element or group) tending to gain electrons and become negatively charged; acid.

Physiology. responding in a direction away from the stimulus.

of, relating to, or noting the south pole of a magnet.

Logic. (of a proposition) denying the truth of the predicate with regard to the subject.

noun

a negative statement, answer, word, gesture, etc.: The ship signaled back a negative.

a refusal of assent: to answer a request with a negative.

the negative form of statement.

a person or number of persons arguing against a resolution, statement, etc., especially a team upholding the negative side in a formal debate.

a negative quality or characteristic.

disadvantage; drawback: The plan is generally brilliant, but it has one or two negatives.

Mathematics.

a minus sign.
a negative quantity or symbol.

Photography. a negative image, as on a film, used chiefly for making positives.

Electricity. the negative plate or element in a voltaic cell.

Archaic. a veto, or right of veto: The delegation may exercise its negative.

adverb

(used to indicate a negative response): “You won't come with us?” “Negative.”

verb (used with object), neg·a·tived, neg·a·tiv·ing.

to deny; contradict.

to refute or disprove (something).

to refuse assent or consent to; veto.

to neutralize or counteract.

interjection

(used to indicate disagreement, denial of permission, etc.): Negative, pilot—complete your mission as directed.

Idioms for negative

in the negative, in the form of a negative response, as a refusal, denial, or disagreement; no: The reply, when it finally came, was in the negative.

Origin of negative

1350–1400; < Latin negātīvus denying (see negate, -ive); replacing Middle English negatif (noun and adj.) < Middle French < Latin as above

SYNONYMS FOR negative

6 uncooperative, antagonistic, hostile.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR negative ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM negative

neg·a·tive·ly, adverb neg·a·tive·ness, neg·a·tiv·i·ty, noun non·neg·a·tiv·i·ty, noun qua·si-neg·a·tive, adjective

qua·si-neg·a·tive·ly, adverb

Words nearby negative

nefud desert, neg, neg., negate, negation, negative, negative accommodation, negative amortization, negative base excess, negative catalyst, negative convergence

Example sentences from the Web for negatively

One of the reasons the Vikings are viewed so negatively is that their violence could seem wanton or irrational.

How the Vikings Saved Europe and Got a Terrible Reputation |William O’Connor |September 17, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
On the other hand, Muslims worldwide are likely, on the whole, to react negatively to the pronouncement.

ISIS Risks Everything to Declare a Caliphate |J.M. Berger |June 29, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Can you give specific examples of how this could negatively impact Americans?

Weed Gave My Family Everything—Then Took It Away |Abby Haglage |April 9, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The city council's decision to ban the public use of e-cigarettes is highly unlikely to negatively impact Henley.

New York’s Nanny-State E-Cig Ban |Olivia Nuzzi |December 20, 2013 |DAILY BEAST

The media sometimes try to portray them negatively, but the film shows that they are genuine.

One Direction Documentary ‘This Is Us,’ Seen Through a Superfan’s Eyes |Erin Cunningham |August 29, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
But do we love ourselves only negatively, or are we satisfied with doing ourselves no harm?

Expositions of Holy Scripture: Romans Corinthians (To II Corinthians, Chap. V) |Alexander Maclaren
Those constituents are negatively correlated, and therefore the compound is unstable in heredity.

Noteworthy Families (Modern Science) |Francis Galton and Edgar Schuster
Negatively I know love; for I do not require to be told what it is not, and I have my ideal.

My Lady Nicotine |J. M. Barrie
The reader may ask: how can there be a positive flow when both plates are negatively electrified?

Hawkins Electrical Guide, Number One |Nehemiah Hawkins
She was not negatively relieved that she was somebody; she rejoiced to find herself Lydia Emery.

The Squirrel-Cage |Dorothy Canfield

British Dictionary definitions for negatively

negative

/ (ˈnɛɡətɪv) /

adjective

expressing or meaning a refusal or denial a negative answer

lacking positive or affirmative qualities, such as enthusiasm, interest, or optimism

showing or tending towards opposition or resistance

measured in a direction opposite to that regarded as positive
having the same magnitude but opposite sense to an equivalent positive quantity

biology indicating movement or growth away from a particular stimulus negative geotropism

med (of the results of a diagnostic test) indicating absence of the disease or condition for which the test was made

another word for minus (def. 3b), minus (def. 5)

physics

(of an electric charge) having the same polarity as the charge of an electron
(of a body, system, ion, etc) having a negative electric charge; having an excess of electrons
(of a point in an electric circuit) having a lower electrical potential than some other point with an assigned zero potential

short for electronegative

of or relating to a photographic negative

logic (of a categorial proposition) denying the satisfaction by the subject of the predicate, as in some men are irrational; no pigs have wings

astrology of, relating to, or governed by the signs of the zodiac of the earth and water classifications, which are thought to be associated with a receptive passive nature

short for Rh negative

noun

a statement or act of denial, refusal, or negation

a negative person or thing

photog a piece of photographic film or a plate, previously exposed and developed, showing an image that, in black-and-white photography, has a reversal of tones. In colour photography the image is in complementary colours to the subject so that blue sky appears yellow, green grass appears purple, etc

physics a negative object, such as a terminal or a plate in a voltaic cell

a sentence or other linguistic element with a negative meaning, as the English word not

a quantity less than zero or a quantity to be subtracted

logic a negative proposition

archaic the right of veto

in the negative indicating denial or refusal

sentence substitute

(esp in military communications) a signal code word for no 1

verb (tr)

to deny or nullify; negate

to show to be false; disprove

to refuse to consent to or approve of the proposal was negatived

Compare positive, affirmative

Derived forms of negative

negatively, adverb negativeness or negativity, noun

Medical definitions for negatively

negative

[ nĕg′ə-tĭv ]

adj.

Expressing, containing, or consisting of a negation, refusal, or denial.

Marked by failure of response or absence of a reaction.

Not indicating the presence of microorganisms, disease, or a specific condition.

Moving or turning away from a stimulus, such as light.

Relating to or designating an electric charge of the same sign as that of an electron.

Scientific definitions for negatively

negative

[ nĕg′ə-tĭv ]

Less than zero.

Having the electric charge or voltage less than zero.

Devoid of evidence of a suspected condition or disease, as a diagnostic test.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

negative

adjective

noun

adverb

verb (used with object), neg·a·tived, neg·a·tiv·ing.

interjection

Idioms for negative

Origin of negative

SYNONYMS FOR negative

OTHER WORDS FROM negative

Words nearby negative

Example sentences from the Web for negatively

British Dictionary definitions for negatively

adjective

noun

sentence substitute

verb (tr)

Derived forms of negative

Medical definitions for negatively

adj.

Scientific definitions for negatively

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

negative

adjective

noun

adverb

verb (used with object), neg·a·tived, neg·a·tiv·ing.

interjection

Idioms for negative

Origin of negative

SYNONYMS FOR negative

OTHER WORDS FROM negative

Words nearby negative

Words related to negatively

Example sentences from the Web for negatively

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for negatively

adjective

noun

sentence substitute

verb (tr)

Derived forms of negative

Medical definitions for negatively

adj.

Scientific definitions for negatively

British Dictionary definitions for negatively